Passion Week (Holy Week): Good Friday

Good Friday Homily: I Thirst

by Fr. Andrew

We adore you O Christ and we praise you, for by your Holy Cross you have
redeemed the world!

As we listened to the Passion of our Lord according to John, we might have
missed it. We might have missed two simple and beautiful words. Right before He
died, right before Jesus breathed His last, He said; "I thirst," two simple
words.

We would be mistaken if we think that these words only refer to a physical
thirst, that His mouth was dry. We would be mistaken if we think that these
words simply meant "I love you," they go much deeper than that.

I thirst, Jesus says. These are not words from the past but living words, spoken
here and now to our hearts! Do we hear your name? Is He thirsting for us? Until
we begin to understand these two simple words, we won’t know who He desires to
be for us. When we begin to live our life hearing, feeling, and answering the
thirst of Jesus with all our hearts. We could spend our whole lives asking our
Lord to show us what He means by, "I thirst."

All through Lent we examined our hearts, our consciences. Lent was a time for us
to go to confession. Lent was time for us to focus on our sins and our need for
salvation. Today is a day to wonder at the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Today is a
day to marvel at the mercy of God on the cross. Today is a day to pray about the
thirst of Jesus Christ.

And if we do not understand, let us ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us. She
was at the foot of the cross and she heard Jesus say, "I thirst." Let this be
our prayer as we wait for Easter, as we wait for the Resurrection.

We adore You O Christ and we praise You, for by Your Holy Cross You have
redeemed the world!